Aveya

Black Cat, black "13" orange label bottle. In bottle - smells like decadent rich chocolate. Yum Wet on Skin - As hubby says "Uh, you're just wearing chocolate now?" Dry on skin - CUMIN. Hi there Cumin. Though I like to taste you, you don't smell so great on my skin. Could you maybe leave the party? If I inhale and get all epic about it, my brain can find all the elements and appreciate how much complexity is in the scent. But on a passing "What's that smell" the answer is cumin, cocoa, and dust. Like, dry cocoa powder that got spilled in my spice cabinet. I'll trade this along so someone who's skin doesn't just eat chocolate away can enjoy. Hopefully it's not just an age thing with the scent, it's a tiny bit old now.

I got # 122 in a swap. Fresh on skin it's very water-esq, it also smells a little bit like Planting Moon. But given a bit more time, it mellows out and has a slight 'Tombstone'esq scent rise out of it. More time just gives way to a very warm musk. Musky vanilla with a cut of herbaly aftershave and a splash of sassafras? There's my best guess. Smells a bit like cologne, in a nice way. I might see how this goes on the SO.

This is all crazy mint in the imp and fresh on skin. Good for a sinus clearing! Then it gets all frumpy. Dirty. Earthy. Musty? And then I come to the forums and read "If you really dislike vetiver (a.k.a khus), stay far away from this one!". And then I go "Oooh that's why Khus never works". Although I have noticed scents labeled with Khus tend to be less basement and more outdoorsy grunge (on my skin?). I wonder if there's something distinguishing the two. In any case, the mint on this one faded semi-quickly for me and turned into a kind of frumpy hippy smell. Actually, it smells exactly like a shop I visited once in Yellow Springs, Ohio. So instead of wet basement, this is musty antique shop with a slightly mystic overtone. It's interesting. There's a definite overtone of summery dirt-rolling festiveness in this. I really enjoy it for what it is, but have a hard time imagining wearing this anywhere. In light of all the other soul-selling scents BPAL offers, this one will have to get swapped off. But I'm glad I got a decant. Maybe I'll sneak some on the SO and see if he smells awesome in it first. He just might...

Disclaimer: I hate vetiver. Hate it. Haaaaaate it. So I'm always overly skeptical when I try scents with vetiver. But I LOVE lemon verbena. LOVE it. So I gave this scent a shot. In the imp this was SOLID vetiver. All over musty musky dirty old basement (that's what vetiver smells like to me ). I contemplate putting this straight to the swaps but then tell myself if I don't try it I'll always wonder. When I first apply it to my skin, lemon explodes. What kind of lemon? Lemon sticky bat lemon. Lemon pledge lemon? Lemon heads lemon. I wonder how much lemon a person can take. Fortunately, this only lasted for MAYBE 5 minutes max. For the next half hour, this scent turns into something warmly beautiful. It smells like my step-grandmothers Kitchen while she's making lemonade. Herbs hanging from the raw wood rafters, fresh produce all over the place. Freshly squeezing lemons with the dirt just brushed off the peel. And is that fried apples for dessert? The longer it sits on my skin, the more the lemonade is drunk and the pie eaten. The house warms up and the wood seeps in. After that? I get random notes of pencil shavings and lemon pledge. It's like there's this moment when the blend perfectly combines to make a heavenly sniff- but then something unsettles and the notes come apart. Perhaps the herbs and vetiver fade from my skin first, leaving lemon and wood to battle it out? Perhaps my skin just doesn't like it? It's struggling with itself, poor thing. Overall- glad I tried it. But will be swapping.

First sniff on skin: "Oooogh" just stress relieve oozing out of me. This is going to get slathered on my SO when I next see him. This is... Superman sherbet. Really. There's nothing else to say. It bubbles out right on skin, but is a quick fade. However it has this lasting skin-closeness I like and not a complete fade. And oddly? It's somehow masculine to me. It's not sugar sweet or girly lolipop. It's like ... summer walks on the bike path while your Flintstones push pops melt down your hands. I'll come back after I snuggle against my SO this summer with this slathered on his neck and let you know how great that goes. It's a very personal scent, so I think he'll appreciate that not everyone gets giant wafts of his fruity. It's a secret fruity.

The overall feel for this blend is very warm, sweet, and natural. The description fits perfectly. I feel like I can even smell strawberry seeds on a freshly squished strawberry in the hot summer sun. Today was, interestingly, the first day above 80 in my state since "spring" hit. We had an ice storm just weeks ago, so when spring comes we know how to LOVE it. This scent fits absolutely perfectly. I can feel the adoration Beth has for her daughter in this blend. It smells like youthful sweet innocence, with a touch of wisdom far beyond what you'd expect from something so sweet. It could melt your heart Beautiful. This is a scent I advise to not pick apart, and take in the entire wholeness of it. Jam-sweetness on top of crushed rose petals, all under the warm heat of a happy summer sun. With a touch of static fizz that only hair ever smells like. This may not be a bottle buy for me, but it will definitely be something I go to on happy summer picnic days this summer

Aeval is a bright, light, happy, fruit-like sweetness yet gently floral scent. Which is weird - I was expecting more musk and warmth. It's very feminine - If you're into unisex this wont cut it (there are some nice "clean floral" scents with lavender for example that are spectacular unisex or masculine scents). I personally got this scent because I went on a Tonka kick after discovering how incredible Dee is (mmm) and was in a search for anything with Tonka. I'm fairly confident I amp most florals out the wazoo - and because I'm not super familiar with sweet pea, I think this scent may have become 90% sweet pea on me and overpowered the rest. But I guess I like Sweet Pea! But that being said - I have a hard time wearing Aeval as my daily scent. However, I tossed an imp (I ended up with three eventually o_O) in a grapeseed & tamanu oil mix and it's a FANTASTIC after-bath moisturizer. The scent is just perfect for freshly-washed me. It lends itself to cleanliness. And as a bonus, since it gets slightly diluted it doesn't hang around all day (just in the "mmm I'm clean" phase) and I can easily add another BPAL later without clashing. I was fairly surprised, because it's one of the few imps where I didn't really "get" the interpretation. I was assuming it would be somehow bold and sexy - instead it makes me think of sweet freckle-faced girl just out of water. I guess that works! If you want a clean fresh feminine scent, this might be perfect for you.

Phobos (Diabolus GC) It was a bright citrus with a sweet touch. Kind of reminded me of Lemonheads (candy). My sister actually stole my imp, and I need it replaced. It has grapefruit in it which I think prevents it from going pledge. It's really "citrus" and not one fruit or the other. The other notes make it feel "cold", which according to the description is mortal fear. But in practice becomes an amazingly refreshing summer scent. You also mentioned liking sugared florals - so while this is a discontinued LE, I would recommend Faith (sugared violet). It's not citrus, but it's pretty, sweet, and uplifting.

The Banshee Beat vibe of this is remarkable. But it's less soft (the hemp, I imagine in Banshee) and a lot dirtier. Banshee Beat is what everyone wants to think of tree loving hippies (sunshine and kisses), Feed me~ is what I think most hippies really are. Dreads, no processed sugar (honey yay ), and a tough love that gets you kissees when truly appropriate. Or that's just me. I think #Occupy Wallstreet is a lot deeper/wetter and didn't work as well on me. Womb furie is a close scent too- but a lot sweeter (went a little cloying on me). It doesn't have the wet slap of patchouli like Depraved, and is a bit closer to the patchouli in Goblin (but sans coconut, so Goblin is a LOT dirtier). All weird comparison's aside, this is an amazing scent. Easily jumping into my top 5. This is the most amazing patchouli I've had from the lab yet (granted, there are many other on my MUST TRY list), and it's tamed to a wearable level (aka: not annoying coworkers/sisters that hate patchouli). The amber gives it the over-all feel of sensual, warm, sexual. But add that sweetness of honey and vanilla and oh... my god. There is nothing more delicious in this world then a warm vanilla'd patchouli. Final decision. So glad I got a bottle of this. I just wish I had gotten more, because I'm certain I'll be doing hunts for this in the future. It'll be a regular scent in my go-to rotation. Highly recommend to everyone that likes patchouli even a little. Note: Amber usually amps on me, making every blend with amber be AN AMBER BLEND OMG. So it's possible that for me, the amber and patchouli balance each other. In comparison to other reviews where the patchouli is dominant.

I was REALLY excited about wearing Red. My preconceptions were for a vibrant, bold, tangy, fruity scent. It's a lot more delicate than that for me. It is fruity, in a tart dry sort of cranberry way (not my preference when it comes to fruity- I want juice smacking me in the face). The tang is certainly there- the spicy pink pepper excited me when reading the description a LOT more than it should have. It's just a touch, and only adds an extra little fizz to the blend. The scent didn't last very long on me, it didn't have much throw, in fact half the day I didn't even realize I was wearing it. I tried it twice within a month and it's just a no go. It's pleasant and soft, and I think it really does fit Red a lot more than you'd think. Something about it is kind of.. dopey. Like that air-headed athletic girl trying too hard yet missing the rock in front of her. It's quirky, cute, and I think if on the right skin chemistry could bloom into something really pretty. Because apparently, my body EATS cranberry. I could hardly tell it was doing anything <-<;. Off to swaps to hopefully find a more appropriate owner.

I love the comment that Crawdad is a blueberry roulette. It's so accurate it hurts. For me? It was Squash and Blueberry. Did you know Squash is apparently an absolutely beautiful smell? It adds a curious soft squishy butteryness to everything. I've tried to break down the glory that is Crawdad into individual notes, but I'm not even going to fib. I have no idea what half of the notes in this are even supposed to smell like. What I will say, is that this scent was my first ever bottle purchase WAAAAY back when, that a friend was telling me about and ended up buying for me because I thought the description was too insanely creative to pass up. I had no idea about perfumes AT ALL. When this stuff touched my skin it exploded into a beautiful prism of scent. Since then, I've been actively searching to find scents similar to Crawdad so that I can have a chance to figure out what these notes are that are making me feel so amazing. I've come to the conclusion after years of collecting that it's not one individual note. It's everything working together in a harmony that only Beth could whip together. It's juicy and slightly effervescent. It's deep, like a blue slow moving river bed where you go crawdad hunting . It's bright and fresh, and yet mellow and chillax. It's contradictory in itself but works together seamlessly. This scent has never morphed on me or changed. And since I've purchased it, it has remained true to the day I opened the bottle. It must work WONDERFULLY on my skin because the reviews from family, friends, coworkers, strangers, has always been extremely positive. When my younger sister was SAD that my bottle of crawdad was more than half empty, I was a bit depressed. It's the reason I finally joined the forums myself- to trade for more. Along with other goodness of course. I get claustrophobic fairly bad in my life- little things make my chest feel tight. And Crawdad feels like a wide expanse around me. With firm edges but a clear, uninhibited very calming blue center. /end hippy. The scent has INCREDIBLE throw. You just need a drop and you're good to go. The plus side? even with the crazy throw it's not overpowering or annoying. You can smell it, but it smells so good no one ever minds. I do get positive comments on occasion when a coworker walks behind my desk, wondering where the delicious smell is coming from. It's almost impossible for this scent to overpower. And boy does it have STAYING power. A few drops in the morning and I come home with a lingering remainder still drafting close to my body. It's been a long lasting investment. It's wonderful. You should try it out, if not just for the sensation of one of Beth's more curious creations. Not to mention one of the first scents Lilith inspired her to make

I had only come across carnation in passing with other notes (and noted it was the first floral that didn't go *Poof* powder on me), and even though I lived in Ohio where it's the state flower, had never paid attention to the smell. So I was just HOPING this would be a good investment. So all the below should be treated as an average untrained joe sniffing away In Bottle: It smells like pine. Wet on skin: Rose. Dry on skin: Holy f'in delicious baby of vanillarosewhatisthis OH THAT'S what Carnation smells like. Duh. It is delicious. It is natural, light, but deep and gently floral. It reminds me of Rose and Violet in the way that it doesn't powder like evil florals. It's spicey in a sort of nondescript way for me. It smells raw. Like I crushed the petals of a carnation in my hand. Red and Green all at once. Bold. Vibrant. Really, just read the lab description. I hope they add a "Sugar" SN so that I can layer it with Carnation. I think I would pass out with glee. Great throw- not overpowering but noticeable. Probably noticeable enough to annoy the overly-smell-sensitive co-worker. Might just wear it when I feel like being a tad bratty.

I've had this imp since 2010, and never got around to testing it until now . So, long-aged untouched imp. In the imp, it's very crisp apple and a little overwhelming pomegranate and almond combo. I have my SO sniff everything so when I shoved it in his face, he sort of freaked out that it was so strong. Muh bad. Wet on skin it instantly toned down. I usually love apple blossom, and in this it's quite lovely. I usually dislike Pomegranate, it tends to be too acidic for me, but the apple blossom tempers it very nicely. I also am immune to almond, I generally like it, but have a habit of not noticing it when it's not a front runner. Then, I have no clue what willow bark smells like, but I want to give it credit an overall light cleanness in the scent. I think this is working perfectly on my skin- but I'm not a light innocent floral kind of girl. Pity. Overall, this is a very girly, soft, pretty, clean scent. For girls who want something almost virginal, this might be it. It has a nicely balanced combo of floral and fruit. I can not stress how clean it smells to me, nor how feminine and innocent. I think some girls would LOVE this scent. Edit to add: While this scent is supposed to be more for Hera, it reminds me of the Roman Goddess, Diana.

2009 Res. version, received the bottle in a swap. Wet in bottle and wet on skin this smells like pine to me. Yeah. That's what I thought too. Then I smacked my head and realized it was "wet" carnation. Thanks to the single note for making me realize that. I put it on skin, and on my boyfriends too because it smelled masculine in the bottle to me. However, on the two of us, it went very different paths. Boyfriend: Ate any trace of cream and left behind the faintest, barest, vaguest "spice" ever. Probably a leftover carnation/cinnamon combo if the other posts are right. On Myself: It got darkly creamy, I was engulfed by carnation and some kind of vanilla yum. I want to say it's Tonka in this, because it didn't get creamy vanilla until a good 20 minutes of wearing it. Tonka is the only scent I've had on my skin that does that. It also has a sort of natural "spice" to it that could explain some of the scents I can't quite hit. But at the same time, there MUST be amber or some similar acting scent that's adding a level of babypowder-ness to the scent. It certainly makes it softer, warmer, more balanced. It takes the sting out of the spice. I wanted to adore Hod. But it morphed a lot on me. From pine, to cream, to sweaty man pits, to plastic, to baby powder. It was a confusing time for us all. It reminded me in some strange way of Diabolical Offspring (Dark Del). The overall feel of that scent that made me dislike it, is the same one in this. Who knew.

I was really excited to try this oil out. I got the bottle through a swap. Skin Test!: It's a very very very very sweet scent. It's rich. In the imp and wet on skin you can visualize big ole' chunks of white cake with sprinkles, thiiiick white icing with sprinkles, and a diabetic coma around the corner. It's delicious in every sinful, amazing, horrific way possible. I did NOT however notice anything fruity, honey, or even chocolate. This was solid solid white cake, white icing, candy sprinkles. Maybe that's how my head choose to interpret it. However, for me and my skin, this did not work. About 20 minutes into wearing it turned into playdough. I'm not sure if I'm misinterpreting a scent or not, but my boyfriend said "OMG YOU SMELL LIKE PLAY DOUGH" and dug his nose into my skin. Not exactly the reason I wanted him to go on an inhaling frenzy. So, despite his love of playdough, this isn't going to be worn on my skin. Oil Burner Test!: So on the warmup, I notice where some may get a "chocolate" vibe from. It's just a creamy sweet cake scent I think my nose tries to fit into "chocolate", but yet isn't quite chocolate proper. Next up in the warming oil is OMG SPRINKLEZ. This is where the "fruity" note is that others have described. It's not actually fruit proper, it's sprinkles. It's the rawest roughest omg SUGARINYOURFACE sprinkle ever. Purple pink mixed with iridescent unicorns. It's amazing (but I could see how that could go SO wrong on skin o_O). The cake is less dramatic, the sprinkles overpower. The icing is so heavy I might drown in it. Melt. This is being kept for Oil-burner alone. With much joy!

I idolized Gobo as a child (first crush? lol) and was so excited to see the Fraggle series added to the lab. But out of them all, I was most excited about Gobo and Red. This scent, overall, is best described as a melted orange Flinstones push-up from when I was a kid. I could never keep up with the melting and always ended up with my hands half covered in orange sticky goo. THIS IS THAT SMELL. It has a creamsicle vibe too, most prominent in the bottle. On skin the cream backs up and lets citrus play. Orange is most certainly the front runner for me, but lemon rind adds raw citrus zing, with grapefruit keeping everything light and fun. As it dries down, it's not too foody to be unwearable. It's fun and lighthearted, and I'm certain people will wonder who has a popsicle- but it's still beautiful and joyful. An easy summer scent to wear for easygoing events and adding daily childhood flashbacks. Now I have to buy a pushup and watch fraggle rock.

I was under the impression that Benzoin smelled like Vanilla (based on other forums and apothecary places I read) but then stumbled across some other sources that said it does NOT smell like Vanilla. That it's more relate-able to amber or copal, because it's a resin. Combine that with black sandalwood (which is apparently a very dark, "dusty" scent) and it accentuates into a masculine mess. It almost comes across as a leather (maybe a recently polished leather? lol). As it dries down I find it does morph slightly. From what I've seen from Tonka (a favorite scent on my skin) it really blooms as time passes. Becoming a sweet, spicy, delicious thing my skin reacts well with. So in this combo- as the tonka pokes out slowly it turns into a sort of sexy man sweat. Which he tried to counteract by rolling in baby powder (sweetness from tonka makes it girly?). It IS a pleasant scent, don't get me wrong. If I sat by someone wearing it I wouldn't crinkle my nose or want to hurl, it's just not as clear a scent with as specific image-invoking concepts as other scents from BPAL. I also didn't find that it was too light as others mentioned. I thought it had average throw for an oil and didn't pollute my house with scent. I haven't had it on too long for this review so can't attest to longevity, but I've worn it once in the past when it was new (and it hasn't morphed much in the bottle since I purchased it ) and it lasted for a few noticeable hours- so it had strong staying power for an oil. I might try it on my slightly feminine boyfriend to see if it blends well with him. But, it will most likely go to swaps/sales because I like him smelling spicy.